The Temple of Heaven : legitimizing the Emperor's rule
The temple for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties
to perform worship to the God of Heaven and pray for
good harvests.
History
The Temple of Heaven
Tiantan, the Temple of Heaven,
was established in 1420 during the
reign of Ming EmperorYongle
(1403-1424), who also founded the
Forbidden City.
The temple was originally
established as the
Temple of Heaven and Earth
Ming Emperor Jiajing (1522-1566)
built separate complexes for the
earth, sun, and moon, as what we
see today.
The Purpose of
The Temple of Heaven
In ancient China the emperor was
regarded as the "Son of Heaven"
who administered matters on earth
on behalf of celestial beings.
The temple was built as a sign of
respect to worship heaven and pray
for a good harvest.
The emperor conducted elaborate
and most exalted sacrifices
addressed for "the Supreme Ruler
of the Universe."
The Temple of Heaven
The emperor visited the
temple 3 times a year:
in the first lunar month to pray
for a good harvest;
during the summer to pray for
rain;
In the winter to give thanks for
a good harvest.
In each ceremony, the emperor
offered sacrifices to the
ancestors, gods of the sun, the
moon, the clouds, wind, rain
and thunder and lightning.
The Map of the Temple of Heaven
The Architecture of The Temple of Heaven
The most unique & well-known wood structure
The Temple buildings and the
parklands reflect ancient Chinese
religious beliefs that imagine
heaven as round and earth as
square.
The Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests
The Circular Mound, the Hall of Abstinence,
the Echo Wall
The Architecture of
The Temple of Heaven
The buildings in the Temple of
Heaven are round, like the sky.
The foundations and axes of the
complex are rectilinear, like the
earth.
An empty three-tiered
plinth that rises from a
square yard. The
number of stones in the
various tiers are all
multiples of three.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Main Building in
The Temple of Heaven
Color of the building
Originally, the triple eaves were painted in
different colors.
The top was blue, which symbolized
Heaven.
The middle was yellow to symbolize
the emperor.
The bottom was green to represent
commoners.
During the Qing Emperor Qianlong's
reign (1736-1795), all the eaves were
painted blue to follow the color of the
sky.
The ceiling of the Hall of Prayer for Good
Harvests is painted with an exquisite
design of nine dragons and is supported
by 28 wooden columns
The Circular Mound Altar The Temple of Heaven
The sacrificial altar for
ceremonies held on winter
solstice. The altar is encircled
by two walls.
The inner wall taking a round
shape to resemble heaven.
The outer one squared to
symbolize earth.
The Imperial Vault of Heaven The Temple of Heaven
The Imperial Vault of Heaven, a
wooden building, was the place
where the tablets of the gods were
kept. Its dome is supported by eight
columns without crossbeams.
The Vermilion Steps Bridge
connects the Hall of Prayer for
Good Harvest and the Imperial
Vault of Heaven. The emperors
believed that they could go to
heaven through this Bridge.
The Hall of Abstinence
The Temple of Heaven
A bedroom in the Palace of Abstinence
Before each ceremony, emperors of
the Ming and Qing dynasties held a
three-day fast during summer and
winter solstice. The emperors spent
two days fasting in the Forbidden
City and completed the three-day
fast in the Palace of Abstinence.
The Beamless Hall, main hall of the Palace of Abstinence
The History Of Worship Ceremony
This ceremony was first performed in the
Zhou dynasty (1100-771 B.C.).
The last time it was performed (December 23, 1914)
when a republic had been founded by Dr. Sun
Yentsen. Yuan Shikai wore the imperial robes of the
emperor to restore the feudalism.
The History of the Worship Ceremony
By the end of the Ming dynasty, the
population of the country had been
reduced by about half through
starvation. While reviving NeoConfucianism the rites and rituals, they
forgot the Confucian ideal that good
government takes care of the needs of
the people first.